List of presidents of Turkey

The president of Turkey is the head of state of Turkey. There have been twelve heads of state since the inception of the republican period in 1923, following the Turkish War of Independence.

For a list of rulers of the predecessor Ottoman Empire, see List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

List of presidents

No.	Name (Lifespan)	Term of office & mandate Duration in years and days				Previous function
1	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938)	29 October 1923	10 November 1938	1923	Republican People's Party	1st Speaker of the Grand National Assembly
				1927
				1931
				1935
		15 years and 13 days
2	İsmet İnönü (1884–1973)	10 November 1938	27 May 1950	1938	Republican People's Party	1st Prime Minister of Turkey
				1939
				1943
				1946
		11 years and 198 days
3	Celâl Bayar (1883–1986)	27 May 1950	27 May 1960	1950	Democrat Party	3rd Prime Minister of Turkey
				1954
				1957
		10 years and 1 day
4	Cemal Gürsel (1895–1966)	27 May 1960	28 March 1966	—	Independent	Chairman of the National Unity Committee
		27 May 1960	28 March 1966	1961
		4 years and 170 days
5	Cevdet Sunay (1899–1982)	28 March 1966	28 March 1973	1966	Independent	12th Chief of the Turkish General Staff
5	Cevdet Sunay (1899–1982)	7 years and 1 day			Independent	12th Chief of the Turkish General Staff
6	Fahri Korutürk (1903–1987)	28 March 1973	6 April 1980	1973	Independent	3rd Commander of the Turkish Navy
6	Fahri Korutürk (1903–1987)	7 years and 1 day			Independent	3rd Commander of the Turkish Navy
7	Kenan Evren (1917–2015)	6 April 1980	9 November 1989	—	Independent	Chairman of the National Security Council
		6 April 1980	9 November 1989	1982
		7 years and 1 day
8	Turgut Özal (1927–1993)	9 November 1989	17 April 1993	1989	Independent	19th Prime Minister of Turkey
8	Turgut Özal (1927–1993)	3 years and 160 days			Independent	19th Prime Minister of Turkey
9	Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)	17 April 1993	16 May 2000	1993	Independent	12th Prime Minister of Turkey
9	Süleyman Demirel (1924–2015)	7 years and 1 day			Independent	12th Prime Minister of Turkey
10	Ahmet Necdet Sezer (born 1941)	16 May 2000	28 August 2007	2000	Independent	14th President of the Constitutional Court of Turkey
10	Ahmet Necdet Sezer (born 1941)	7 years and 105 days			Independent	14th President of the Constitutional Court of Turkey
11	Abdullah Gül (born 1950)	28 August 2007	28 August 2014	2007	Independent	40th Minister of Foreign Affairs
11	Abdullah Gül (born 1950)	7 years and 1 day			Independent	40th Minister of Foreign Affairs
12	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 1954)	28 August 2014	Incumbent	2014	Independent	25th Prime Minister of Turkey
		28 August 2014	Incumbent	2018	Justice and Development Party
		10 years and 11 days			Justice and Development Party

Timeline

List of presidents by age

Age of presidents when assuming office

The median age at inauguration of incoming Turkish presidents is 63.5 years. The specific years and days median is 55 years and 104.5 days, which falls midway between how old Turgut Özal was in 1989 and Kenan Evren was in 1982.

The youngest person to assume the presidency was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who, at the age of 42, was the founding father of the newly formed Turkish Republic. The oldest to become president by election was Fahri Korutürk, who was inaugurated at age 69.^[1] At age 63, Abdullah Gül was the youngest person to become a former president. The oldest president at the end of his tenure was Celâl Bayar at 77.

Cemal Gürsel had the shortest retirement of any president, dying barely five months after leaving office at age 70 (the youngest president to die of natural causes). His presidency was prematurely terminated by the Parliament in conformity with the Constitution due to worsening of his health.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Turgut Özal experienced no post-presidency retirement as both died in office due to natural reasons.^[2]^[3] Celâl Bayar's post-presidency retirement, which lasted 26 years, is the longest in Turkish presidential history. At age 103, Celâl Bayar was also the nation's longest-lived president. He is one of three Turkish presidents (along with Süleyman Demirel and Kenan Evren) to have lived into their 90s. Currently, the youngest living president is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, age 70.

No.	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Lifespan
No.	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Died	Age
01	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk	January 4, 1881	42 years, 298 days Oct 29, 1923	57 years, 310 days Nov 10, 1938	00,0010 days^[a]	Nov 10, 1938	57 years, 310 days
02	İsmet İnönü	September 24, 1884	54 years, 48 days Nov 11, 1938	65 years, 245 days May 27, 1950	23 years, 212 days	Dec 25, 1973	89 years, 92 days
03	Celâl Bayar	May 16, 1883	67 years, 11 days May 27, 1950	77 years, 11 days May 27, 1960	26 years, 87 days	Aug 22, 1986	103 years, 98 days
04	Cemal Gürsel	October 13, 1895	65 years, 362 days Oct 10, 1961	70 years, 166 days Mar 28, 1966	170 days	Sep 14, 1966	70 years, 336 days
05	Cevdet Sunay	February 10, 1899	67 years, 46 days Mar 28, 1966	74 years, 46 days Mar 28, 1973	9 years, 55 days	May 22, 1982	83 years, 101 days
06	Fahri Korutürk	August 3, 1903	69 years, 246 days Apr 6, 1973	76 years, 247 days Apr 6, 1980	7 years, 189 days	Oct 12, 1987	84 years, 70 days
07	Kenan Evren	July 17, 1917	65 years, 115 days Nov 9, 1982	72 years, 115 days Nov 9, 1989	25 years, 181 days	May 9, 2015	97 years, 296 days
08	Turgut Özal	October 13, 1927	62 years, 27 days Nov 9, 1989	65 years, 186 days Apr 17, 1993	00,0010 days^[a]	Apr 17, 1993	65 years, 186 days
09	Süleyman Demirel	November 1, 1924	68 years, 196 days May 16, 1993	75 years, 197 days May 16, 2000	15 years, 32 days	Jun 17, 2015	90 years, 228 days
10	Ahmet Necdet Sezer	September 13, 1941	58 years, 246 days May 16, 2000	65 years, 349 days Aug 28, 2007	17 years, 10 days	2024-09-7(living)	82 years, 360 days
11	Abdullah Gül	October 29, 1950	56 years, 303 days Aug 28, 2007	63 years, 303 days Aug 28, 2014	10 years, 10 days	2024-09-7(living)	73 years, 314 days
12	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	February 26, 1954	60 years, 183 days Aug 28, 2014	70 years, 194 days(incumbent)	(incumbent)	2024-09-7(living)	70 years, 194 days
#	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Died	Age
#	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Lifespan

^ ^a ^b Died in office

Graphical representation

This is a graphical lifespan timeline of the presidents of Turkey. They are listed in order of office.

The following chart shows presidents by their age (living presidents in green), with the years of their presidency in blue.

References

^ "Türkiye'nin 12 Cumhurbaşkanı". BİA Haber Merkezi. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
^ Cavendish, Richard (11 November 2013). "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk dies in Istanbul". History Today. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
^ Cowell, Alan (18 April 1993). "Turgut Ozal, 66, Dies in Ankara; Pugnacious President of Turkey". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2022.

External links

Past presidents, Presidency of the Republic of Turkey.

[died-4] Died in office

[1] "Türkiye'nin 12 Cumhurbaşkanı". BİA Haber Merkezi. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2022.

[2] Cavendish, Richard (11 November 2013). "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk dies in Istanbul". History Today. Retrieved 9 September 2022.

[3] Cowell, Alan (18 April 1993). "Turgut Ozal, 66, Dies in Ankara; Pugnacious President of Turkey". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2022.

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v t e Presidents of Turkey
List List by education
Presidents	Mustafa Kemal Atatürk İsmet İnönü Celâl Bayar Cemal Gürsel Cevdet Sunay Fahri Korutürk Kenan Evren Turgut Özal Süleyman Demirel Ahmet Necdet Sezer Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Acting presidents	Abdülhalik Renda İbrahim Şevki Atasagun Tekin Arıburun İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil Hüsamettin Cindoruk

List of presidents of Turkey

Contents